Qal'at Bani Hammad

The Qalaa was described by Al-Bakri in the 11th century as a large and powerful military stronghold and a centre of commerce that attracted caravans from all over the Maghreb, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and the Hejaz.[8] Ibn Khaldun also noted that the abundance of travellers was due to the wealth of resources offered to those interested in sciences, commerce and arts. The Qala attracted poets, sages and theologians. The architecture of the Hammadids even influenced that of the Normans.[9]

Hammadid emirs constructed five palaces, most of which are now destroyed. The keep of the Palace of the Fanal (Qasr al-Manar) does survive.[11] The upper palace consists of three buildings arranged around an irregularly shaped forecourt: a private apartment, a domed hall and an entrance wing.[12]

Other palaces such as the Qasr al-Kawab and Qasr al-Salam were constructed by the Hammadids. The Qasr al-Salam likely served as the residence of the rulers family and this structure summarises many aspects of typical Hammadid architecture. The Qasr al-Manar is another palace, its layout has resemblance to the Upper palace and Qasr al-Salam as its main elements are composed of a forecourt with an audience hall and a private apartment both surrounded with T-shaped pillared porticos.[12]

The Dar al-Bahar which is located nearby the congregational mosque was most likely used for public audiences and/or the palace of the Emir. The eastern court occupied by a large water basin inspired the name of the palace. Located between two courtyards is the main reception room and a domed hall is located north of the water court. The outer walls consist of buttresses varying in design. As for the water courtyard the court is 71 meters long and 51 meters wide while the basin is 68 meters long, 48 meters wide and 1.3 meters deep. The courtyard was surrounded on all sides by T-shaped pillared porticos.[12]

The Dar al-Bahr palace was named for its rectangular pool, which measured 67 by 47 metres (220 by 154 ft). A ramp at one end of the pool was used to launch boats. References to nautical displays in this pool appear in the accounts of contemporary visitors. The pool was surrounded by a portico, and accessed through a monumental entrance on the east side. West of the pool was an elevated terrace and courtyard with gardens. Outside the walls of the palace complex, gardens extended east-to-west across the city, and to a depth of nearly 100 metres (330 ft). The gardens have not yet been explored by archeologists, although ornamental fountains have been discovered.

The Hammadid mosque is said to have been the largest mosque constructed in North Africa prior to the twentieth century and it features the typical Maghreb style square minaret.[13] In Qalaat Beni Hammad, the minaret, 82 feet (25 m) in height, is the only remaining part of the ruined Great Mosque; the structure bears some resemblance to Seville's Giralda.[11]

Piece from Qal'at Bani Hammad, currently held in the Louvre

Plan of Qal'at Bani Hammad (place names in French)

Architecture in Qalaat Beni Hammad featured adornments of "porcelain mosaics of many-colored faience, sculpted panels and plaster, enameled terra-cotta stalactites; building and pottery ornamentation consisted of geometric designs and stylized floral motifs."[11]

In the Qal’at Beni Hammad fragments of stucco were discovered from the Qasr al-Salam and the Qasr al-Manar which may be the oldest fragments of muqarnas in the Western Islamic world, dating back to the 11th or 12th century.[14][15]^: 133 There are no earlier examples of muqarnas in the Islamic West. According to Lucien Golvin the fragments of the muqarnas semi-dome at the Qasr al-Salam are the oldest documented remains of a true muqarnas vault in the Islamic world.[16] However, other scholars of Islamic architecture have questioned or rejected the dating of these fragments or their identification as true muqarnas.[17][14][18]^: 93

Furthermore, the Qal’at buildings are considered to be documented antecedents and precursors to certain developments in Western Islamic art in the 12th century.[14] Plaster capitals that were found at the Qal’at were composed of smooth leaves recurved in their upper part are considered to be an antecedent to the common Almoravid and Almohad forms which are seen in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen or in Tinmel.[14] The framework of a marble basin and a grey marble fragment document the use of multifoil arches with spiral-form impost decoration. The use of this motif at the Qal’at subsequently spread during the times of the Almoravids and became universal in Almohad buildings.[14] The square rooms surrounded by rampant barrel vaults in the Qasr al-Manar have been compared to the Almohad minarets and the Torre Pisana in Palermo which it predates. The Hammadid palaces are also noted to contain the first or one of the first documented use of shadirwan.[19]